Codes generally designate English characters, numerals or special symbols for recognizing predetermined objects. However, it is a troublesome and difficult job when memorizing every code one by one and sending it into a computer. In particular, separate code managing of diverse kinds of items such as daily commodities is next to impossible, and such the code managing is practically insignificant even regardless of being realized.
In order to solve these problems, bar codes was developed by combining variously thick bars as codes instead of ordinary codes, and an apparatus of optically reading and supplying the bar codes into a computer system is referred to as a bar code reader.
In other words, a bar code reader named as a bar code reading machine or a bar code scanner is one kind of an input device that reads out an electronic signal produced by an intensity of reflected light after emitting an electron beam onto a bar code printed on a certain place of a target object.
The bar code reader uses an optical theory of converting the above-stated electronic signal to an inner code of a computer by a logic circuit of a controller.
Actually, it is commonly taken place that the bar code printed on an item is read using the bar code reader when a customer purchases commodities in a store such as a supermarket to thereby immediately make sales data. Because of advantages of an accurate data input and a convenient use, the bar code is being widely available from the production management to the sales management of commodities, and especially is regarded as an evolution in a distribution field. Accordingly, the bar code reader is further frequently used in recent years, and is easily found in small-scale shops as well as large-sized discount markets.
A structure of a conventional bar code reader will be briefly described. The bar code reader includes a casing equipped with internal components, a bar code reading unit of reading a bar code printed on a target object, a button of operating the bar code reading unit, and a main board electrically connected to the bar code reading unit to control information of the readout bar code.
In view of the foregoing structure, an electron beam is emitted from the bar code reading unit when pressing a button to read the bar code. Then, information with respect to the readout bar code is stored in the main board or sent through a wire or a wireless path under the control of the main board, which is then supplied to an output apparatus such as a monitor. By doing so, a user can recognize the information with respect to the bar code.
However, such a conventional bar code reader has a structure too complicated to be easily assembled nor dissembled, and is relatively large to be fastidious when being carried in a user's pocket, and so on.